Port Coquitlam-based cleantech startup Moment Energy has entered a supply agreement with the energy storage subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz to reuse its partly-spent electric vehicle (EVs) batteries.
According to Mercedes, this marks the first agreement it has signed with a North American second-life energy storage system (ESS) provider.
As part of the deal, Mercedes will supply Moment Energy with the used batteries from its lineup of EVs. In turn, Moment Energy will convert them to modules that provide rechargeable power to commercial and industrial buildings.
Stakeholders in the automotive industry believe that more than half of their sales will be EVs by 2030, according to a survey by accounting and consulting firm KPMG. Moment Energy said that this growth will be coupled by tens of millions of end-of-life EV batteries that are being improperly managed. The startup noted that these batteries still have an average of 80 percent of their original capacity remaining when removed from vehicles.
Moment Energy established a similar partnership with Nissan Motor Co’s North American unit in 2020. In that agreement, Moment Energy would repurpose Nissan LEAF batteries, becoming the only Canadian company at that time working with Nissan to give its EV batteries a second life.
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Founded in 2019 by Edward Chiang (CEO), Gabriel Soares (CTO), Sumreen Rattan (COO), and Gurmesh Sidhu (CPO), Moment Energy provides energy storage systems made from repurposed EV batteries. The startup claims that its solutions help off-grid customers reduce diesel consumption and transition to renewable energy.
Rattan told Bloomberg that the modules created by Moment Energy will provide power for seven to 10 years. She also told the outlet that the company is in the process of raising between $15 million and $20 million in Series A funding, as well as securing $1 million CAD from the Royal Bank of Canada in debt financing.
Moment Energy recently secured an undisclosed amount of grants from British Columbia’s Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy, representing one of the eight recipients. Last year, it raised $3.5 million in an all-equity seed round led by Version One Ventures.
Featured image courtesy of Moment Energy.